Reliance Industries (RIL) is planning to set up more than 50 compressed biogas (CBG) plants in the next two years, which will entail a cost of over Rs 5,000 crore. CBG can be used for automotive, industrial as well as commercial uses.

RIL has tendered out 50 compressed biogas plants to be set up in the next two years, and will float a tender for the remaining plants shortly. It has also revised the number of CBG plants to 106 from 100. 

Each plant would have a feedstock processing capacity of 250-500 tpd, with CBG production in the range of 10 tonne to 20 tpd. RIL's in-house team would be involved in sourcing the feedstock for the plants. The company has also been in discussions with multiple sugar mills for sugarcane press mud and feedstock to assist CBG production.

RIL has already set up two CBG demo units at its refinery facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat and has commissioned the first commercial-scale CBG plant at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh. Through its CBG units, RIL aims to consume 5.5 million tonne of agro-residue and organic waste, mitigating nearly two million tonne of carbon emissions, and producing 2.5 million tonne of organic manure annually. Moreover, it would lead to reduction of about 0.7 million tpa of imported LNG.

These CBG units will also help RIL scale up the retailing of CBG and bio-CNG (purified form of biogas) at the Jio-BP fuel retail outlets shortly. Jio-BP outlets are set up by Reliance BP Mobility, a joint venture between RIL and British energy major BP.